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Show 360 MR. ft. BROWN ON THE MAM.MALS OF GREENLAND. [May 28, no place in the Greenland fauna, and that the Kappik* and Amarok must be regarded as synonyms of Canis familiaris, var. borealis, tinctured with a deep "hue of fable. Murray portrays the distribution of the glutton (Gulo borealis) on both the east and west coasts of Greenland up to nearly 67° N. lat.f 5 but if I am right in excluding this animal from the Greenland fauna, this distribution is erroneous. Here I may remark, what must by this time be self-evident to you, that the Greenlanders cannot be relied upon (independently of the principle in the abstract) for the names of animals. They are not the excellent cetologists we have always been led to suppose, confounding as thev do several animals under one name, as I shall have occasion to notice at a future time when discussing the errors which Fabricius was led into by trusting too much to their nomenclature, and which to this time have entangled the history of the northern Cetacea in an almost pathless maze. Fabricius has notified in his Fauna many species of supposed Seals &c. under various Eskimo names, but which he was unable to decipher%. Hr. Fleischer, Colonibestyrer of Jakobshavn, has aided m e in resolving these :- I. Siguktok, "having a long snout and a body similar to Phoca grdnlandiea, perhaps P. ursina." This is apparently some Eskimo perversion, if they have been interpreted properly; for I am assured that it is only the name of the Eider Duck (Somateria mollissima). 2. Lmab-ukullia, a Seal with a snow-white coat, "the eve presenting a red iris, probably P. leporina," is a rare albino of the Netsik (Pagomys fcetidus). The meaning of the word is the Sea-hare. 3. Atarpiak or atarpek, " the smallest species of Seal, not exceeding the size of the hand, of a whitish colour, and a blackish spot of the form of a half-moon on each side of the body." This description does not correspond to the meaning of the word, which is " the Brown Seal." Hr. Fleischer thinks that it is only a myth, as is- 4. Kongesteriak, which has, " according to the description given by the natives, some resemblance to the Sea-ape described by Mr. Heller"§. This is one of the northern myths. The natives say it is a Bear which is so covered with an ice-coat that it never comes on land, but is always in the water, &c. These myths, both in the pseudo-Mammalia and in other groups, are endless ; but I have given enough to show that no dependence can be placed on their idle superstitious tales. * Jansen in his ' Elementarbog i Eskimoernes Sprog til brug for Europa?rne ved Colonierne i Gronland' (Kjobenhavn, 1862), p. 55, translates " Kappik " as "en Grsevling." t Op. cit. Map xxiv. \ Vide also Giesecke in his " Greenland,'' in Brewster's Edinburgh Encyclopaedia. This article, which is the only original one, as far as I know, ever written upon Greenland in the English language, is a most trustworthy account, for the time it was written. The author, however, copies Fabricius in all his errors as well as excellencies. § I suppose Giesecke means Steller's account of the " Sea-ape," vide Pennant, Q.uadr. ii. p. 301 ( Trichechus hydropithecus, Shaw, Zool. i. p. 247; Manatus simia' Illig.; M. ? hydropithecus, Fischer. &c). |